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Lbd to avoid ‘diet message’ as it targets 19-24 females with lower-alcohol vodka

New vodka launches don’t come along every day, particularly those targeted at women. However, global wine and spirits company Brown-Forman is looking to reach the female 19-24 age group with the launch of lower-alcohol fruit-flavoured vodka, lbd, which it claims taps into a demand for lighter drinks without being “diet-focused”.

The launch of the 20% ABV vodka, which comes in fruit pairing flavours such as peach and raspberry or lime and watermelon, has kicked off with the brand’s “We Go Together” digital campaign which uses “cheeky pairings” and “imagery girls can relate to”, according to the brand.

The campaign is an effort to get consumers to “forget the 9 to 5 and focus on the 5 to 9”.

Charlotte Ashburner, Brown Forman marketing manager, told Marketing Week: “Getting ready to go out has become an emotionally important part of a night out.

“These girls are there to have fun with their friends and are not there to get drunk – they want to be as beautiful on their way out the door as they were at 8pm.”

With the line “Stay gorgeous in every shot. Please drink responsibly” appearing on its ads, the brand is looking to tap into the appearance-focused “selfie” culture.

However, it won’t push any diet messaging according to Ashburner, who claims the brand wants to stand apart from the likes of low-calorie Skinny Girl vodka in the US.

“There was a clear space in the market for something targeted at females, but girls don’t want anything diet-focused,” she says.

Lbd will appear exclusively in Asda for its first six months, with plans to roll out across grocery and in other countries later this year.

The campaign will be promoted in-store starting on 29 May, on social through the hash tag #5to9 as well as through PR and on Asda’s website.

Lbd’s launch has been largely driven by consumer research commissioned by Brown-Forman, with a UK flavour survey showing that women in their 20s and 30s were looking for something “light, refreshing and tasty”.

The company also talked to their 19-24 demographic about their favourite brands and found that “none of them felt like any spirits brands were specifically targeting them”, according to Ashburner.

She adds that the girls found that the imagery and tone of voice used in the ads, which shows young girls getting ready for a night out, “looked and sounded like them”.

Meanwhile, ASA guidelines state that “People shown drinking or playing a significant role must neither be nor seem to be under 25”.

Rules also exist stating that marketing must not imply alcohol enhances confidence, attractiveness, or that it is a key component to the success of a social event.

However, Ashburner claims that the company ensured all models were in their late 20s and “worked incredibly hard” to make sure the models didn’t look under 25.

“I’m truly hopeful that we don’t get anyone who thinks that,” she adds.

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